Emory University junior Bea Rosen battled the Atlanta heat and a pair of teammates successfully Sunday afternoon and captured the USTA/ITA Regional Singles Championship. Rosen earned her first ITA title defeating fellow Eagle Katarina Su, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, marking the 13th consecutive year that an Emory players has won that crown. Earlier in the day, Rosen bested freshman Bridget Harding, 6-4, 6-2, in the semifinals.
In a match that proved to be a battle of attrition waged on the baseline, Rosen was broken by Su in the first game of the opening set, but rallied to capture the next four games, breaking Su twice in the process. With each player holding their following service opportunities, Rosen broke her sophomore teammate again to claim the set. Undaunted, Su regrouped and evened the match in the second set, breaking Rosen in the ninth game to close it out.
The decisive third set was a battle of the breaks with Rosen bolting to a 3-0 lead thanks in part to breaking Su twice. Su responded by winning three of the next four games, taking away Rosen's serve twice, to creep back to within a 3-4 deficit. However, Rosen got control of the match back in the eighth game, ignoring a 15-30 score, to post a 5-3 advantage. The set would end as it started, with Rosen breaking Su to wrap up the contest that lasted almost three and one-half hours.
By virtue of her championship performance, Rosen captures All-America honors for the second time in her career and will advance to the ITA National Small College Championship, Oct. 9-12, in Sumter, South Carolina.
Rosen's play in the ITAs isn't concluded just yet as she teams with sophomore Michelle DeMeo in doubles with the duo battling Su and Anna Fuhr for the title.
